The event is organised as part of the celebrations of 2019 as the Year of Stanisław Moniuszko.

“We would like the celebrations of the Moniuszko Year to contribute to the popularisation of his music both in Poland and abroad,” said the culture minister Piotr Gliński. “Preparations started a year ago… and this year will be rich in a broad spectrum of events dedicated to the composer.”

On Saturday afternoon, the Warsaw Central Railway Station is to be named after Stanisław Moniuszko. The station, opened in 1975, is one of the city’s landmarks. It will join Warsaw’s other main communication hub, the Frederic Chopin Airport, in bearing a name of a legendary Polish composer.

To officially inaugurate the Year of Stanisław Moniuszko, the Warsaw National Opera will stage his masterpiece “Halka” in the Italian language on Saturday evening.

This year marks the bicentenary of Stanisław Moniuszko’s birth. He is commonly referred to as "the father of Polish national opera", with his major works including: “Halka”, “The Haunted Manor”, and “Paria”. Apart from operas, he composed chamber pieces, religious songs and patriotic music reflecting the history of the former Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth.

Moniuszko died of a heart attack on June 4, 1872. He rests at Warsaw’s Powązki Cemetery.